Congress leader Rahul Gandhi recently highlighted farmers as India’s strength, asserting that numerous national issues could be resolved through their insights. Gandhi made these remarks on social media, accompanied by a video documenting his visit to paddy fields in Sonepat, Haryana’s Madina village, on July 8.
The 12-minute YouTube video displayed Gandhi conversing with farmers and their families, ploughing fields, planting paddy saplings, and sharing a meal with the farmers on a string cot. In his Hindi tweet accompanying a short clip from the video, he recounted his interactions with farmers Sanjay Malik and Tasbir Kumar, who are close friends and have been farming together for years.
Gandhi praised the farmers for their honesty and intelligence, recognizing their rights and their readiness to stand against unjust laws when necessary. He stressed that actively listening and understanding their perspective could resolve many of the country’s problems.
Gandhi’s visit and views were echoed by the Congress party on Twitter, where they lamented the lack of respect for the hard work and contributions made by Indian farmers. “Farmers have a huge contribution in uniting India – the grains they produce are part of every plate of the country, but their ‘tapasya’ does not get the respect it deserves,” the party stated.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh shared Gandhi’s video, emphasising his efforts to engage with farmers and agricultural labourers during his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Ramesh highlighted Gandhi’s approach of active listening and understanding the issues, struggles, and grievances faced by the farming community.
He stated that the farmers shared their challenges, the impact of inflation, and the effect of privatisation on the agricultural sector.
Ramesh further tweeted that farmers also aspire to provide good education to their children, lamenting the lack of governmental assistance in this area.
He affirmed, “We salute the struggle of farmers and agricultural workers. We clearly believe that farmers are the backbone of our country.
We should listen with respect and humility to everything they say.”
